Ben & Jerry’s Proclaims #BlackLivesMatter in Company Statement

Ben & Jerry’s has released a statement letting the world know that #BlackLivesMatter.

The company published a statement to their website, explaining why they chose to come out in support of the movement. “Systemic and institutionalized racism are the defining civil rights and social justice issues of our time. We’ve come to understand that to be silent about the violence and threats to the lives and well-being of Black people is to be complicit in that violence and those threats,” reads the statement.

The statement goes on to say that the unjust killing of Black Americans by the hands of the police has become such an issue that the company cannot sit idly by and must instead take a stand.

“It’s been hard to watch the list of unarmed Black Americans killed by law enforcement officers grow longer and longer. We understand that numerous Black Americans and white Americans have profoundly different experiences and outcomes with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. That’s why it’s become clear to us at Ben & Jerry’s that we have a moral obligation to take a stand now for justice and for Black lives.”

In the letter, it’s also made clear that their stance is in no way anti-police, and shouldn’t be taken as such. “We want to be clear: we believe that saying Black lives matter is not to say that the lives of those who serve in the law enforcement community don’t. We respect and value the commitment to our communities that those in law enforcement make, and we respect the value of every one of their lives.”